Two Sessions' significant signals: China's next trillion-yuan market lies in the sky.

This year's Two Sessions had an incredibly high "intelligence" quotient.

As this is the first year of the 15th Five-Year Plan, it's even more worthy of in - depth consideration.

In the draft outline of the 15th Five - Year Plan, the words "emerging" and "future" before industries have fully stretched the imagination.

The aerospace and low - altitude economy should be accelerated; quantum technology, brain - computer interfaces, and sixth - generation mobile communications should become new growth points; satellite Internet and the national integrated computing power network should be built into national - level infrastructure.

Just pick any one of these terms, and it unfolds like a science - fiction movie, representing a trillion - level new world.

Take the aerospace field as an example. From the end of last year to this year's Two Sessions, several news items made it onto the hot search.

At the end of last year, a mysterious domestic institution applied for over 200,000 satellite resources all at once.

In February, the Long March 10 rocket successfully completed the "sea rocket recovery" test.

We initially thought these events were not closely related. But when the Two Sessions came and the blueprint gradually became clear, we suddenly realized -

These are not coincidences. It's a grand strategic plan.

A more grand and hidden strategic map is unfolding in the vast expanse of the starry sky above us.

Statistics of China's space launches from 2018 to 2025. Data source: Annual "Blue Book of China's Space Science and Technology Activities".

01 Weaving the "Heavenly" Network

A "last - ditch battle" 19 years ago is worthy of being written into China's space history.

According to the rules of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the right to use satellite frequencies and orbital resources follows the "first - come, first - served" jungle rule. Whoever launches a satellite first and successfully uses a certain frequency will have the legal right to that resource.

Many people know this rule, which is like staking a claim in space. The fast ones get it, and the slow ones miss out.

In 2000, China applied for a precious prime frequency for the Beidou system.

The ITU gave a seven - year "validity period" - a satellite must be launched and successfully emit a signal on this frequency before April 17, 2007. Otherwise, the application would automatically become invalid, and the frequency would be taken by other countries.

This was a race against time.

However, in early April 2007, just before the launch, the "transponder", a key component on the satellite responsible for emitting signals, suddenly malfunctioned.

There were only a few days left, and the satellite - rocket combination was already standing on the launch pad.

What to do? Disassemble it!

The engineering team made an astonishing decision: disassemble the satellite - rocket combination, take out the satellite, and replace the transponder. Scientists and engineers from the Beidou team worked non - stop for 72 hours and successfully eliminated the fault.

At 4:11 am on April 14, 2007, the satellite was successfully launched.

Three days later, at 8 pm on April 17, the receiving station in Beijing clearly received the signal from space.

At this moment, there were less than 4 hours left until the frequency expired.

China's Beidou "scored a goal at the last minute", preserving this "lifeline" that is crucial to the country's fortune.

The nature of the space race is so cruel.

Researchers are assembling the satellite. Picture source: The Fifth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.

Orbits and frequencies are non - renewable strategic resources. Once lost, they can't be bought back no matter how much money is spent.

It is precisely because of this painful experience of being "held back" that we better understand the significance of applying for 200,000 satellites today.

On the surface, it is seen as a response to SpaceX's Starlink project. In fact, based on the strategic vision of "occupying positions first, then developing", we are paving the way and marking out areas in advance for future applications such as space Internet, Internet of Things, and space - based AI computing in the next ten or twenty years.

The organization that applied for the satellites this time is called the "Radio Innovation Institute", which was registered in Xiongan New Area on December 30, 2025.

But it was born with great strength. It is jointly built by seven units, including the National Radio Monitoring Center, the Management Committee of Xiongan New Area in Hebei Province, the Industry and Information Technology Department of Hebei Province, China Satellite Network Group Co., Ltd., Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Beijing Jiaotong University, and China Electronics Technology Group Corporation.

Its background is extremely powerful.

Just one day before its registration, it submitted applications for the CTC - 1 and CTC - 2 constellations to the ITU, with a total of about 193,000 satellites.

How big is this number?

SpaceX's Starlink project initially applied for 4,425 satellites, then expanded to 72,000, and later proposed a concept of a "space - based data center" with 1 million satellites (only reported to the US Federal Communications Commission, FCC).

China's Radio Innovation Institute's application for nearly 200,000 satellites is currently the largest single - application satellite constellation plan in the world.

Obviously, it is not an ordinary scientific research institution. It is more like a "vanguard" seizing strategic resources for the country within the framework of international rules.

The appearance of this "heavenly" network is a strategic leap for China from "passive defense" to "active layout".

02 Making the Most of the "Earth"

With the "title deeds" in space, the key to winning this grand strategic plan lies in how to send satellites into space economically and efficiently in the future.

The answer lies on the ground.

Spacecraft are the most complex machines invented by humans, and they are all "money - guzzling beasts". A single rocket can cost hundreds of millions.

This determines that it can only be a "noble game" that only a few countries can participate in.

SpaceX's Falcon 9 successfully launched NASA's IMAP interstellar probe on September 24, 2025.

In 2015, Elon Musk's SpaceX changed the game rules with the reusable Falcon 9 rocket.

As of February 2026, the Falcon 9 has been reused for over 600 launches, and the first - stage booster has been reused up to 33 times. The single - launch cost has been reduced from over $10,000 per kilogram to about $2,000, a decrease of over 70%.

The deployment of large - scale satellite constellations has become a reality from a blueprint.

Others have taken the lead. China's space industry can't wait. In fact, we are also experiencing a profound "cost revolution".

On February 11, 2026, the first - stage rocket body of the Long March 10 carrier rocket splashed down at sea.

This was a landmark success. The first - stage rocket body of the Long March 10 carrier rocket splashed down safely in the scheduled sea area as programmed during the mission, aiming at "net - based recovery" - using a huge net to catch the falling rocket body - but ultimately aiming at reusability.

Experts say that the net - based recovery method is more stable in complex sea conditions and is a technical route suitable for China's national conditions.

The first - stage rocket body of China's Long March 10 carrier rocket splashing down on the sea surface.

What's more worthy of attention is the maturity of the ground - based industrial ecosystem.

As of the beginning of 2026, the number of registered enterprises related to China's commercial space industry has exceeded 96,000 (including all industrial chain links such as supporting services and application development), and there are nearly 50 commercial space enterprises focusing on the R & D and manufacturing of carrier rockets.

Among them, private enterprises such as LandSpace, iSpace, Tianbing Technology, Galaxy Power, and CAS Space are making great strides in the research and development of reusable rocket technology.

There was a time when space launches aimed for "absolute safety", and every failure could cause great social pressure.

But in the past two years, we have seen a more relaxed attitude.

At the end of 2025, the recovery tests of the Long March 12A and the private Zhuque - 3 rocket failed one after another, but the public generally showed tolerance and encouragement.

This social attitude of "embracing trial - and - error" is a precious foundation for the accelerated iteration of China's commercial space industry.

According to data, in 2025, the number of China's commercial space launches exceeded 50, accounting for 54% of the country's total space launches, and 311 commercial satellites were sent into orbit, showing a significant year - on - year increase.

In November 2025, the National Space Administration specially established a Commercial Space Department to integrate commercial forces into the formal track of the national space system.

From the aerospace information industry cluster in Xiongan New Area, to the commercial space launch site in Wenchang, Hainan, and then to the satellite manufacturing bases in Beijing, Shanghai, and Xi'an, a complete industrial chain from R & D, manufacturing, launch to application is forming a closed - loop on the ground.

Making the most of the "earth" provides a continuous supply of "ammunition" for the construction of the "heavenly" network.

03 The "Aerial" Road Network

As the ground - based launch capabilities and industrial ecosystem become increasingly mature, the imagination of this strategic plan extends from the distant space to the sky within one kilometer above our heads.

China's integrated strategic vision includes both space and the low - altitude airspace below 1,000 meters.

At the end of 2024, the National Development and Reform Commission established a Low - Altitude Economy Development Department to be responsible for overall industrial planning and policy - making.

The "low - altitude economy" has been written into the government work report for the third consecutive year after 2024 and 2025.

In the draft outline of the 15th Five - Year Plan, "low - altitude equipment research and development" and "low - altitude infrastructure construction" are clearly listed as key tasks and major projects, with a very high strategic status.

Pre - flight preparations for EHang's EH216 - S unmanned manned aircraft.

What does this mean?

Imagine the Guangdong - Hong Kong - Macao Greater Bay Area in 2030.

Instead of a two - hour drive from Shenzhen to Guangzhou, you can take an eVTOL (electric vertical take - off and landing aircraft) and arrive in half an hour.

Such "air taxis" will form a brand - new three - dimensional transportation network.

This is not science fiction.

EHang's EH216 - S unmanned manned aircraft system obtained the world's first eVTOL type certificate from the Civil Aviation Administration of China as early as 2023.

Companies such as XPeng Huitian and Fengfei Aviation are accelerating their commercialization process.

According to the prediction of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, by 2030, the market scale of China's low - altitude economy will exceed 2 trillion yuan.

Predicted trend chart of China's low - altitude economy market scale from 2021 to 2030. Source: Zhongshang Intelligence Network.

The "brain" and "nerves" of this network are the satellite constellations in space.

The navigation, communication, and obstacle avoidance of eVTOLs will all rely on the "integrated communication, navigation, and remote sensing" services provided by the space - based satellite network.

The sixth - generation communication (6G) mentioned in the 15th Five - Year Plan is not just about faster network speeds. By integrating with satellites, it extends the communication network from the ground to a three - dimensional seamless coverage, and becomes more flexible, green, and intelligent with the support of AI.

The 51st meeting of the ITU - R WP5D (International Telecommunication Union Radiocommunication Sector Working Party 5D), which ended on February 12, 2026, officially approved the "IMT - 2030 (6G) Minimum Technical Performance Requirements" report.

This report systematically defines 20 key performance indicators that 6G wireless interface technology needs to meet, promoting mobile communication from "Internet of Everything" to a new stage of "Intelligent Internet of Everything and Integrated Communication and Sensing".

So we can see that the 6G network has become a new - generation comprehensive digital - intelligent infrastructure supporting the era of intelligent agents and serving the co - existence of humans and intelligent agents, and is an important direction for future industries in the 15th Five - Year Plan.

This is the essence of the "space - air - ground integration":

The satellite network in space empowers low - altitude application scenarios on the ground. Combined with 6G communication, it forms a three - dimensional transportation and information network that links space, air, and ground.

From drone logistics and emergency rescue to urban air traffic and agricultural plant protection, a trillion - level "aerial road network" industry is emerging.